Hands Across Torrance

Another visit to UCLA this week - the usual vital check and howdy-do with Dr. K as part of the clinical trial. I was complaining about the intermittent nausea on the Gleevec, and the doctor asked me if I took it during the day or before bedtime. Have you ever had that moment, when you're answering a question, when you know you're a total idiot? As I'm saying. "Why, I take it during the day..." I think - um, wouldn't taking it at night be better? Duh! (Doi? Der?) To confirm my duh-ness, Dr. Khanna suggests I take the meds at night. Why not be nauseous when I'm sleeping, right? So the dose goes to 300 mg and I'm hoping for the best.

I decided to be a Good Patient and actually made a list of questions to ask (instead of relying on my less than stellar memory - always fun to get in the car after a visit and go, "Oh yeah! I was going to ask about ...") for the visit. I even emailed the list to the doc the day before so he would be prepared - if I don't get some kind of Good Patient Gold Star for this...

Anyway, one of the questions was about my hands. I haven't been able to make a fist with either hand for a little while, and I recently noticed I can't really make the "ok" sign anymore. Which is kind of annoying because now I have to rely on "thumbs up" to signify anything good in a nonverbal way. Something else I noticed - the other day, I was trying to hold change and my keys and I ended up dropping change everywhere because I couldn't hold on to it. My right hand is starting to curl under slightly, and all I can think of is the patient I saw on my last visit with her hands completely curled under.

So I figure Dr. K will just hand me an arthritis squeezy ball thing and that will be that. Instead, he is pretty alarmed. He tells me that once the hands start to do this, they won't stop unless we get aggressive. He says I am to start physical therapy immediately - twice a week for three months. Which suits me just fine cause I loooove doctors' offices!

I try to find a place as close to home as possible and come across one in Torrance with a really cool, big, splashy web site. You can set appointments, print insurance forms - neat-o. After a frustrating 10-minute call with the receptionist, I'm told that they don't accept referrals from physicians who aren't in their practice! Huh? So, let me get this straight - to be seen by a doctor in the practice, I have to be referred by a doctor in the practice? Maybe you should include that valuable info nugget on your big, splashy web site!

I ask receptionist if she knows someone else - she does! I get the info and call.....awesome! The therapist herself answers and we chat for a bit (after determining that my insurance is accepted naturally). She's great - asking me how I'm doing, saying all the right things - I just bet she's a "hugger."

Anyway, so I've got that to look forward to - I wonder if manicures will now be covered by insurance?